Random Anonymous Blackmail: 2AM the cops will pull you over for anything since they are fishing for DUIs.

And as shown in this scenario, sometimes DUI cases will have to be dismissed if the cop pulls something like this.

There was no report of him drinking, and good thing.

I got pulled over one night on my way home from work for my headlights being "misaligned" around 2AM by a cop fishing.

The instant an officer smells alcohol why they pulled you over is no longer relevant, cause becomes swerving or some other shiat where it becomes your word vs theirs

FTFA: The court noted that Officer Lowe admitted he was targeting the Escalade because he had stopped it before. Tyler suggested he was stopped for driving while black. The court let that slide, because with no objectively reasonable fact suggesting the plate was obscured, the evidence from the traffic stop was suppressed leaving prosecutors with no basis to maintain Tyler's drunk driving conviction.

Officer Brad Lowe, who was waiting in the parking lot of Dragon Car Wash, recognized the Escalade that he had pulled over two days earlier over its plate cover.

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"In fact, the cited code section does not proscribe tinted license plate covers. Rather, it proscribes placement of any frame or cover 'which does not permit full view of all numerals and letters printed on the registration plate,'" Justice Bruce B. Zager wrote for the court. "Officer Lowe told Tyler during the stop that he had pulled him over because of tinted license plates. Tinted license plates are not a violation of Iowa law, and the state does not contend otherwise."

So how many people have paid tickets based on a non existent law that the cops just decided to invent? I bet there is some shlub writing a check for it right now.

Back in my high school days, once upon a time two of my buddies and I were driving around in the evening (sun still up). Not really doing anything, just bored teenagers driving around.

We drove past a cop car which was going in the opposite direction. The cop then pulled an illegal U turn and followed us for a minute before pulling us over, getting ALL of our licenses (my buddy was the driver/owner of the car and I didn't want to cause him trouble, so I gave my license without an argument). The pretext? Burned out light for his rear license plate. No ticket, they just wanted an excuse to check us out.

megarian:Can someone explain the tinted plate cover thing? Does it serve a purpose?

I got pulled over for the light above my license plate being out (before the sun went down...grrr) so wouldn't the tinted cover be a similar situation?

Darkness will obscure a plate much more than a tinted cover will. I've done a few ride-alongs with the LA Co. Sheriffs and it was a common thing to use defective license plate lights as a reason to stop a person. It's enough for a traffic stop and roadside interrogation, but they usually let you go on your way if everything seems copacetic, but will give you the ticket if you're being an ass. It's a messed up reason to pull someone over because the driver rarely knows if the light is out. I always make sure to check all exterior vehicle lights because I don't want to have my time wasted by a cop "cold calling" my car to see what he can dig up (even though s/he will be wasting their time and mine).

HotWingConspiracy:Yeah I wish people would stop breaking laws that don't exist. Git'em Johnny Law, deliver justice for their imagined crimes!

I pretty clearly explained that people use those to try and shirk traffic light cameras. Running a red light is breaking the law. Try and keep up. Your civil liberties will still be there when your outrage cools off.

I pretty clearly explained that people use those to try and shirk traffic light cameras. Running a red light is breaking the law. Try and keep up. Your civil liberties will still be there when your outrage cools off.

Shirking cameras and running red lights aren't the same thing, and you never mentioned running a red light. Try and keep up.

rumpelstiltskin:walkerhound: skullkrusher: I can see a tinted plate cover obscuring the plate in a way that an uncovered plate would not be under the same conditions. Plus, tinted plate covers are lame.

Do they accomplish anything useful? I've thought about getting some for those damned camera vans and red light cameras we have locally, but if they don't work - fahgedaboutit.

They let the hotties know you're a Man of Mystery.

lulz.

*swoon* your tinted plate cover is sooooo mysterious! And the stick guy peeing on a Chevy logo makes you sooooo badass! My panties would look much better in your glovebox! But can we pick up my awesome air-brush-art Tweety Bird vanity plate before the awkward your-mom-is-in-the-next-room sex?

BitwiseShift:HotWingConspiracy: So how many people have paid tickets based on a non existent law that the cops just decided to invent?

Or how many people have given money to a fake undercover cop for violating a fake law.

Hah...?

Fines are typically paid by going to the web site of the agency that issued you a citation, typing in a code that brings up a page showing which law you violated and the amount you owe if you plead guilty, and a form for entering your credit card information.

If you're paying cash to the officer on the spot, you're definitely giving money to a fake cop.

Honest Bender:Back in my high school days, once upon a time two of my buddies and I were driving around in the evening (sun still up). Not really doing anything, just bored teenagers driving around.

We drove past a cop car which was going in the opposite direction. The cop then pulled an illegal U turn and followed us for a minute before pulling us over, getting ALL of our licenses (my buddy was the driver/owner of the car and I didn't want to cause him trouble, so I gave my license without an argument). The pretext? Burned out light for his rear license plate. No ticket, they just wanted an excuse to check us out.

/White and nerdy.//Go figure.

Similar thing happened to me and my friends back in high school. Cop passes us going the other way just as I take a swig from my Sobe (it was the late 90s, Sobe was cool). I see him flip around in my rear mirror and I tell my friends we're about to get pulled over, which was surprising since for once we weren't speeding or doing anything else illegal. First thing the cop asks me after he swaggers up to my car is "what are you drinking there?""Sobe.""Oh yeah, well you kids been smoking today?""Cigarettes.""I don't care about cigarettes, you mind if I take a look in your car?"Of course, that's the point where the ITG brigade would come out screaming about rights and warrants and fark the police, but we were dumb teenagers that didn't want to kick the hornet's nest, and we honestly weren't doing anything wrong (that day). The cop ended up calling his buddy in as backup, and they searched my car three times and my friend and I twice before finally realizing they weren't going to find anything. No ticket, no warning, just harassment.

/and people wonder while I call cops pigs and think nothing but the worst of them.